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Pandora Hearts
Pandora Hearts (パンドラハーツ''Pandora Hātsu'' ?) is a manga series by Jun Mochizuki. Originally starting serialization in the shōnen magazine GFantasy published by Square Enix in June 2006. Currently seventeen volumes have been released in Japan. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Broccoli Books but has been dropped; it has been licensed by Yen Press since then. It has also been made into an anime version, produced by Xebec. On February 11, 2010, NIS America announced it would release the anime of Pandora Hearts in North America. This series also had 9 OVA's (3 minute per episode), which aired from July 24, 2009 to March 25, 2010. Plot Oz Vessalius, One of the Heir of the Duke Houses, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he is cast into the prison known as the "Abyss", only to be saved by a "chain" known as Alice, the Bloodstained Black Rabbit or B-Rabbit for short. The mystery begins there as Oz unravels the mystery behind Alice, the Abyss and the strange organization known as Pandora. The series features heavy references to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and can be considered both fantasy and mystery. Terminology Chain (チェイン Chein) Beings from the Abyss that were at one point human, transformed by the Abyss. They must sign a contract with a human contractor in order to leave the Abyss. Chains involved in illegal contracts must repeatedly consume humans in order to gain power, an agreement between the chain and the contractor. The chain is bound within the contractor and can be called out at will. In return, the contractor provides passage for the chain out of the Abyss. Occasionally, a rare side-effect of making a contract with a chain gives the contractor the ability to never physically age again, although their mind and body still deteriorate in certain ways, and they can still die of natural causes such as old age. In illegal contracts, a clock-like seal appears somewhere on the Contractor's body, over their heart. Each time the chain's powers are drawn upon, the hand on the seal moves like on a clock. Once the hand makes one full rotation, both the contractor and the chain are dragged into the deepest level of the Abyss. Contractors '(契約者 ''Keiyakusha) A human who makes a contract with a chain. There are certain procedures to making a contract, but impromptu contracts can also be made, although they are illegal. '''Abyss (アヴィス Avisu) The world that chains come from. It exists in a different dimension from the regular world, and time doesn't truly exist in the Abyss. A person can find themselves in any random time period upon exiting the Abyss. The appearance of the Abyss is somewhat like a broken toy box. Intention of the Abyss '(アヴィスの意志 ''Avisu no Ishi) The existence that governs the Abyss. Can sometimes appear in the form of a white rabbit doll covered in blood with big round eyes. The real form of the Intention of the Abyss is similar to Alice, but usually with white hair, a white dress, lavender-coloured eyes, and a crazed expression, generally the opposite of Alice. Apparently the Intention of the Abyss wants Oz and Alice to go back to the Abyss. The Intention of the Abyss and Alice are twins; both were conceived in the human world, and born into the Abyss. The Intention of the Abyss hates Alice and want to destroy her. It is revealed her real name is also Alice. 'Four Great Duke Houses '(四大公爵家 Yondai Koushaku Ke) It currently consists of the Vessalius, Rainsworth, Nightray and Barma family. These four houses have been in existence before the Tragedy of Sablier. They founded the Pandora and each hold chains and a door to the Abyss. Of these four houses, the Vessalius and Nightray houses are thought of as exact opposites, like light and dark: the Vessalius house works publicly, while the Nightray house is responsible for doing the backstage work. Before the Tragedy of Sablier occurred, the Vessalius family was only a third class noble family, and thus, not part of the four duke houses. Instead, the fourth house was the Baskerville house - with Glen as the head. When Jack killed Glen for starting the Tragedy of Sablier, the Vessalius family were seen as heroes. And thus, the Vessalius substitute the Baskervilles, as the fourth duke house. Therefore, the Baskervilles holds the fifth door to the abyss. 'Pandora '(パンドラ Pandora) An organization founded by the four duke houses. It specializes in research regarding the Abyss. '''The Tragedy of Sablier (サブリエの悲劇 Saburie no Higeki) The city of Sablier was once the capital city of the Pandora Hearts universe. However, 100 years ago, for unknown reasons, Glen Baskerville used a ritual to send the entire city, with its citizens, into the Abyss. Glen was then supposedly killed by Jack. Doors Doors are gates to the Abyss that the four duke houses control. Each house has control over one, with the Baskerville's holding the last, fifth Door. It is revealed in Retrace 41 that all along, the Baskerville's door was hidden in Sablier, which is under Pandora's control. Yet, Pandora had never thought to look within Sablier to find it. Blood Sealing Mirrors An item used to make a legal contract. Instead of the contractor drinking the blood of the chain, the blood gets absorbed into the mirror where a seal is formed, keeping the seal off of the person. If the mirror is broken, you can lose the contract to the chain. It also has a limit on the power you can use. Baskervilles Humans chosen by the core of the Abyss to guard it. The Baskervilles are almost completely immortal and has the ability to heal wounds at incredible speed. People who're about to turn into Baskervilles usually attracts unluck and in this process Children of ill Omen are created. Children of ill omen Children who are born in the same family as a Baskerville, are in most cases affected by the Baskerville's power to attract unluck and posses this power. The Children of ill omen are deeply connected to the Abyss and have red eyes which makes it easy to separate them from the crowd, so they're often left outside by the community. They're seen as a serious threat by the Baskervilles, who therefore offer them to the Abyss to stop the world from falling into chaos. Three Children of ill omen have appeared this far in the series. 'B-Rabbit' Media Manga : Main Article : List of Pandora Hearts Chapters Pandora Hearts began as a manga series which started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine GFantasy in June 2006, published by Square Enix. There are currently 17 bound volumes released. It has recently been picked up by Yen Press and has been serialized in Yen Plus' June issue. Anime : Main Article : List of Pandora Hearts Episodes With director Takao Kato, studio XEBEC produced the animation with music featured by Yuki Kajiura and themes by Savage Genius and FictionJunction. The series premiered on April 3, 2009 and ran until September 25, 2009. It consists of 25 episodes. Other Books Guide Book A guide book Pandora Hearts Official Guide was released on March 27, 2009, and is numbered 8.5. Oz Bezarius (the term Vessarius is used as the japanese sounding) and Gilbert Nightray are on the guide cover, along with a plush of B-Rabbit. Audio Soundtracks The first anime opening theme was released as a maxi-single, "Parallel Hearts", on April 29, 2009 under Victor Entertainment label. The opening theme single performed by FictionJunction included "Parallel Hearts" and "Hitomi No Chikara" in both vocal and instrumental versions, with lyrics, compositions and arrangements made by Yuki Kajiura, and peak ranked 20th on Oricon singles charts. The first ending theme "Maze" was released on June 3, 2009 under Victor Entertainment label, and peak ranked 35th in Oricon singles chart. The second ending theme is Watashi wo Mitsukete by Savage Genius. The first anime album Pandora Hearts Original Soundtracks 1 was released July 8, 2009 under Victor Entertainment label and peak ranked 104th on Oricon albums chart. Drama CD A drama CD entitled Pandora Hearts Drama CD was released on December 21, 2007 under Frontier Works label. Reception Volume 8 of Pandora Hearts was ranked 21st on the Tohan charts between March 24 and 30, 2009, 19th between March 31 and April 6, 2009, and 1st between July 27 and August 2. Trivia *Some characters resembles the characters in Crimson Shell. **Claudia = Alice and Lacie **Shion = young Vincent (except for the hair and eyes) and Oz **Benz = Liam **Ruskin = Oscar **Les = Echo **Wilhelm = Break, Vincent and Revis Category:Manga Category:Media